No team in the NFL is worse on the field than Dallas Cowboys. No, seriously. The Cowboys enter Sunday’s action ranked last in the NFL, averaging a putrid 77.2 rushing yards per game. Their offense has underperformed early in the year, and the lack of a ground attack is a huge reason why.

For whatever reason, instead of following a trusted option at position ca Derek HenryJosh Jacobs or even Tony Pollard, the Cowboys chose to bring Ezekiel Elliott back to Dallas. Yes, the same Ezekiel Elliott who struggled to the point where he was released by the Cowboys after the 2022 campaign. He was brought in to be the team’s RB1, and the results were what most NFL fans expected.

Elliott’s predictable struggles allowed 26-year-old Rico Dowdle to take over as team leader back. He hasn’t been stellar, but he’s a definite upgrade over Elliott. There is no argument that he is the best option in their running back room right now.

This unfortunate fact is why the Dowdle news he got sick upon arriving at Levi’s Stadium before Dallas’ Week 8 game against him San Francisco 49ers this is such frustrating news. Now it’s questionable if he plays, and even if he does, chances are he won’t have a full load.

With Dowdle’s availability in question and Elliott buried on the depth chart, there’s a good chance Dalvin Cook’s Cowboys debut will involve a lot of significant work.

It was reported that Cook was will be active for their Week 8 game in San Francisco, but how much he would play remained to be seen. He had spent the season on Dallas’ practice squad but hadn’t seen a game with the Cowboys.

With the news that Dowdle is now questionable, there seems to be a very good chance that Cook will not only see some action, but could lead the team in carries. Now being 2024, the thought of Cook getting plenty of playing time on a Cowboys team trying to fight for their playoff lives isn’t great.

Cook was once one of the best running backs in the NFL, as was Ezekiel Elliott, but then again, it’s 2024. Cook hasn’t been a star in quite some time.

Last season, he appeared in 15 games with the New York Jets operating as the No. 2 back behind Breece Hall. He averaged just 3.2 yards per carry on 67 attempts leading up to his eventual release. He would finish the season with the Baltimore Ravens, but spent most of his time there on the sidelines.

Cook might get an offensive line upgrade from New York to Dallas, but does anyone really expect the 29-year-old to be better than the one he has now, which is already the worst in the sport?

at the end of the day it all comes down to Jerry Jones for his strange refusal to add a legitimate option to operate out of the backfield. Trying something new when what they’ve been using this season sounds good in theory, and Cook having the resume he does makes it interesting, but it’s hard to expect much here. In fact, it would be surprising if it weren’t more of the same.